Maddie owns her dream business running a combined bookshop and tea rooms, in the beautiful Cornish village of Holly Bay. When Ben arrives looking for a place to rent, Maddie is keen to help him find a home in the town she loves, where they really know how to celebrate Christmas.

Maddie owns Basil’s Adventures, bookstore and tea rooms, named after her much loved and missed grandfather, the man who shaped her love of books and reading. With the inheritance he left Maddie, she was able to move to Holly Bay and realise her dream of opening her own bookstore. I think that would be my dream job too!

Maddie loves her work, her friends and living in Holly Bay. The only thing she is missing is someone to share it all with. So when Ben Cartwright arrives in the village looking for a special dress for his niece, it seems Maddie’s single days might be over. Ben is attractive and appears to return Maddie’s interest…and he’s looking for a property to rent in the village.

Maddie shook herself. Has she really offered to accompany Ben to view Sarah-Jane’s cottage? Now that she was about to meet him for the visit, she was seriously having second thoughts. He must think she was really pushy, or, worse still, just some lonely shop assistant desperate for a date. Either way, the thought made her cheeks flame with colour. It had been so long since someone had walked into her shop, or her life, that she’d felt such an instant connection to, perhaps it was no surprise she’d acted in a way that had shocked even her.

Ben gives the impression of being friendly and up front, joining in with community activities, but appearances can sometimes be deceptive. Ben has his own agenda and when Holly Bay is hit by a terrible storm which destroys the only way in and out of the village, Maddie and her friends find out, to their dismay, just what Ben is up to.

’Tis the season, and I do like to have a feel good Christmas story or three ready to go. This definitely fits the bill, it’s a lovely, cosy read that made me want to move to Holly Bay immediately. A gorgeous little seaside village in Cornwall with a tight knit and caring community, filled with warm and likeable characters. It’s written in an enjoyable, easy to read style making it a perfect book for the time of year.

About Jo Bartlett

I’ve made up stories for as long as I can remember, but never really took it any further. Concentrating on my career and family, writing went on the back burner until a catalyst called cancer gave me a major kick up the proverbial. I decided I was going to write that novel after all.

In 2015 my debut ‘Among A Thousand Stars’ was published by So Vain Books, which at one point appeared in the top ten of three Kindle charts on the same day. I also had two pocket novels published by DC Thomson in 2015, which fulfilled my childhood dream of walking into WHSmiths and buying something with my name on it. I write mainly contemporary women’s fiction, when I’m not knee deep in assignments in my day job as a university tutor.

The first of the four-book St Nicholas Bay series published by Accent Press, ‘Somebody Else’s Boy’ is now available. This series is set by the sea in Kent, where I live with my own family – so close to the edge of the Channel that we’re practically French. The stories in the series feature motherhood by both conventional and unconventional routes, drawing on some of my own experiences and those I’ve encountered during my career.

My ambition is to drink tea and make stuff up on a full time basis, and, if you follow me on Twitter, I might even say something interesting one of these days… although I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Reading Challenge 2015

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